The present invention concerns a recoil impulse generator for a weapon simulator comprising a force storage element and a movable impulse mass that is moved from a stressed to an unstressed position when a trigger element is actuated by the force storage element in order to generate a recoil impulse. In general the recoil of the most varied weapons can be simulated with a recoil impulse generator. The recoil impulse generator considered here is suitable preferably for hand gun simulators.
US 2008/0155875 A1 describes a mechanism for the recoil impulse generation in a toy gun. There an electric motor drives a piston of a compressed air cylinder via a multi-part reduction gear. The return of an impulse mass is effected by pneumatic means.
From DE 27 26 396 C2 a device is known for the simulation of the recoil force of a weapon. For this purpose a recoil generator is provided that is structurally separate from the weapon and that transfers an adjustable recoil force to the barrel of the weapon. Because of the structural size the device has to be permanently installed at a shooting range and is particularly suitable for coupling to rifles. The handling characteristics of the weapon change significantly due to the external lever action that is acting on the rifle, so that the shooting simulation corresponds only in part to the actual circumstances during use of the weapon.
DE 36 31 262 A1 describes a device for the shooting simulation of a hand gun. The bolt in the hand gun simulator is moved for that purpose by means of electromagnetic or gas pressure-activated drive means against the force of the recoil spring into the open position. In this constellation either strong drive elements have to be used or the recoil force that can be generated is too small. The generation of large recoil simulation forces would require a very strong electromagnet, which structurally could barely be accommodated in a hand gun and additionally would have a high energy consumption. If instead a gas pressure cartridge is used as drive means, it would have to be frequently exchanged if it were used to provide realistic forces. The attachment of a gas pressure cartridge to the front part of the barrel of the hand gun, as it is proposed in the printed specification, also prevents the simultaneous disposition of a target system on the front barrel section, which likewise is required for a complete hand gun simulator.
DE 103 50 307 A1 demonstrates a simulation device for the simulation of the semi- or fully automatic function of a firearm. For example, a propellant container that is disposed in the breech block is connected to a cylinder and propels a movable piston via a valve. Here also the actually achievable recoil forces are significantly lower than those associated with an actual shot because the forces that can be exerted are not as large as those that arise during the firing of a cartridge, due to the limited propellant amounts.
In EP 1 043 561 A2 a weapon simulator is described that can be used in particular in a battle tank. Here a slide serves the purpose of transporting a training projectile. The slide is driven by two parallel spindles.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,472,002 describes a screw- and self-holding mechanism that can be used for example in an airplane-machine gun and is used for re-cocking the weapon after it has malfunctioned. The mechanism uses a spindle that is driven by an electric motor, an impulse mass and a coil spring as a force storage element. A coupling is formed by the housing that feeds bearing spheres into the spindle in order to be axially displaced. The coupling is disengaged when the impulse mass has been moved into the stressed position, and engaged when the impulse mass has returned into the unstressed position. The described mechanism is only used occasionally to cock the weapon since firearm malfunctions occur only occasionally, so that the motor also is not designed for permanent use.